


There Are So Many Roads (And They All Need Repairs)

by ArtieSafari



Category: Diary of a Future President (TV)
Genre: Caught, Coming Out, Confession, Figuring Things Out, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Mild to Moderate Swearing, Secret Relationship, They aren't subtle
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-20
Updated: 2020-09-26
Packaged: 2021-03-07 00:33:18
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 4,096
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26338027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ArtieSafari/pseuds/ArtieSafari
Summary: Bobby has finally admitted to himself that he's gay. Not out loud, or to anyone else, but to himself.But now the problem is that he both doesn't know how to keep his mouth shut around Liam, and has no idea if he'll ever know how to tell him about the ever-growing crush that sparked the identity crisis in the first place.Will Bobby ever get the courage to tell Liam how he feels? If he does, will it be on purpose? And how will their relationship progress as they begin life as high school freshmen?[Title from "This Is Why I Need You" by Jesse Ruben]
Relationships: Bobby Cañero-Reed & Liam Carter, Bobby Cañero-Reed/Liam Carter
Comments: 5
Kudos: 28





	1. You Make My Crazy Feel Normal (Every Time)

"It's time."

Bobby stood in front of the mirror, alternating between gripping the sink and pacing around the bathroom. He had found himself here many a time. Something about saying things out loud, even to nobody, helped him organize the mess of thoughts in his brain. 

"Liam, hey, this summer has been... great... You... You have been... great- no, that's stupid."

Tomorrow, high school would officially begin. He would be in a bigger school. More strangers. Bottom of the hierarchy. Harder work. Extra pressures. Less free time.

But today, today the guys would all be hanging out in Danny's basement. One last day of freedom, celebrating with lots and lots of video games. It would be the four of them hanging out, just like old times, hanging out, eating snacks, and not talking about anything more serious than that. Easy. Predictable. _Chill._

"We're starting high school tomorrow. I mean, obviously you know that, but I just meant..."

Afterwards, though?

That's when he was going to do it. He would ask Liam if the two of them could walk home together instead of riding with Ziggy's mom. That would give him a good fifteen minutes, twenty if they walked slowly, to work up the courage to tell him. He knew Liam wouldn't feel the same way and he wasn't getting his hopes up about it. Or at the very least, he was trying his best not to get his hopes up. But Bobby couldn't go through all of freshmen year harboring an overbearing, constantly-growing crush on his best friend without exploding. He had been putting it off for far too long. Throughout the end of eighth grade and the entirety of summer, Bobby had tried to find a way to get the words out. But there was always something wrong. Wrong time, wrong place, wrong words, wrong outfit, wrong weather, wrong... something.

"I've been trying to tell you for a long time, but, I... you know... feel... things... for you! And I wanted to... tell you... about that..."

So there he was again. The cycle repeating all over again. Mirror pep talk, failure, week of trying to forget about it, failure, repeat. But Bobby could not fail again. He _would not_ fail again.

He pulled out a folded up piece of paper from his back pocket, letting out a breath and stopping himself from re-reading it over again. Everything he wanted to say but didn't know how to, scribbled out onto a sheet of notebook paper with Liam's name carefully written on the back. It took almost an entire notebook to get there, and he knew if he read it over again, it'd take another notebook to get back there. And he already didn't want to explain what all that crumpled-up paper in the recycling bin was from, any more and everyone would get suspicious. He shoved the letter back into his pocket and shook his head.

He had to leave or he would be late. Hopefully he could enjoy the day without worrying, but he already knew that wouldn't happen. Being around Liam tended to have that impact on him, regardless. 

Was that even completely true? Sometimes Liam made his heart race and his palms sweaty, but other times he made him feel safe and comfortable. Like nothing bad could happen if Liam was there. As untrue as that was, evidently.

Bobby finally gathered his thoughts and made his way to Danny's garage. The three were already there, with two plastic bowls filled with chips sitting on the table in front of the couch.

"Hey, Bobby!" they all greeted as he took his seat at the couch. In the only available spot. Right next to Liam.

It wasn't the first time they sat like this, obviously, but it always felt like the first time.

Like the _very first time._ In the storage closet during the Jupiter tournament, when their knees touched and Bobby's heart rushed and he hoped Liam couldn't see him blush. In that one moment, that solitary, accidental touch, he felt more than he had throughout his entire relationship with Monyca-with-a-y. Sometimes he wondered. He wondered if they'd never got locked in together, if Liam had never cheered him up with bottle-ball, if Liam had never made that tennis ball trophy Bobby still kept on his nightstand, if he never sat close enough to Liam to notice the way it felt, would he be in this situation now? Sometimes it felt like life would be easier if he could have just ignored that feeling. But he also knew it would just be delaying the inevitable. The feelings were building for a while, maybe from the beginning, maybe just from the time Liam showed he actually cared about Bobby's feelings, but regardless, they had been there before that moment. He may not have realized it at the time, but it was painfully obvious now. Hindsight was a cocky bitch.

Bobby hardly registered it when Liam handed him a controller. He just nodded and said "thanks" before grabbing a chip and pretending like he _wasn't_ focused on their legs pressed together while they played. It sent a wave through his body he could hardly describe, both exciting and terrifying. He wanted to lean into it. He wanted to run away. He wanted to be alone with Liam. He wanted to thank Danny and Ziggy they were there to save him from doing or saying anything embarrassing.

"Wow, Bobby, when did you start sucking this hard?" Danny asked teasingly.

"Fuck off," Bobby said, his voice lacking the confidence he tried to convey. If they noticed his hands were shaking a little more than normal, nobody said anything.

He made the mistake of glancing over at Liam, catching a glimpse of his smile as he dominated the game. The way his eyes shimmered and his lips curled up in a perfect smile. Bobby's heart skipped a beat then came back with a vengeance, pounding into his chest. He cleared his throat as he looked back to the TV, hoping nobody noticed.

"I'll be right back. Bathroom," he said almost the second the round was over. He hastily dropped the controller onto the table and hurried out of the basement. It wasn't until he was closing the bathroom behind him that he realized he hadn't formed a normal sentence. They had to know something was wrong. Even if Danny and Ziggy didn't, _Liam_ definitely would. The fact that Liam noticed things nobody else did was just one more reason he liked him. Along with his insane tennis skills, how nice he was, his sense of humor, his gorgeous face, his perfect laugh, just everything about him.

"Fuck," he whispered as he leaned against the counter. It wasn't usually this hard to get his mind to relax, if even for a little bit. Maybe it was just how close they were, or the heavy reminder in his pocket of what he committed to do today.

Absentmindedly, he reached into his back pocket. Maybe to verify he was really doing this, or just because he thought about it.

His heart stopped.

His eyes widened.

He shuffled through both of his back pockets. Then again. Then he checked his front pockets. Just to be sure.

_The letter was gone._

"Oh, no, no, no," he whispered again, trying not to scream in panic. He looked around the floor of the bathroom, hoping it had just fallen out, but it wasn't there. The problem was it could be anywhere between his house and Danny's basement. Bobby wracked his brain, trying to remember the last place he had _actually_ seen the letter. But that was his bathroom back home.

Best case scenario? It had fallen out right there. Elena might find it, but that was a bridge he'd only cross if he got there.

Worst case scenario?

He didn't even want to think about it.

He had to take a moment to remember to breathe, to calm his heartbeat, to stop himself from sweating. It would be okay. It was probably just at home.

Finally, he flushed the toilet just in case anyone could hear and went back down to the basement. He followed the same path he took, trying to see if it fell out anywhere on the way. But it wasn't there.

"Everything okay?" Liam asked once he got back into the basement.

"Oh, yeah, fine. Just, you know, stomach is kind of upset."

"Are you getting sick?" Ziggy asked as Bobby glanced at the couch before sitting back down. It was at home. It _had_ to be at home.

"No, just had too much at lunch," he said. The conversation went back to their normal pace, talking about random shit that had nothing to do with anything while playing their favorite racing game. Bobby was eventually able to ease back into his normal way of life, his mind relaxing while chilling with his boys. He could appreciate the subtle glances from Liam and his beautiful smile without going into panic mode. Well, usually.

The sky started to darken outside, but they could only tell through the tiny window to the outside world. The real tell was when Danny's mom came down to tell them it was time to go, Ziggy's mom was there.

It was time. Once they were out of the basement but away from Danny, Bobby decided to take his shot.

"Hey, Liam?"

"Yeah?"

"I think I'm just gonna walk home. Do you want to walk with?"

"Sure," he said. The two told Ziggy his mom didn't have to drop them off, and he just shrugged and got into her mini-van. That left Bobby and Liam. Alone. And he didn't even have the letter to fall back on. So he had to do this the old-fashioned way; by talking.

The two walked in comfortable silence for a few minutes. But Bobby could feel the seconds ticking away with each step they took.

"Bobby, can I ask you something?" Bobby almost stopped in his tracks. Wasn't that supposed to be his line?

"Anything," Bobby said, almost without thinking.

"So, when you went to the bathroom, this fell out of your pocket," Liam said. Bobby's heart wanted to jump out of his chest. He wanted to run away. His gut sank as Liam pulled out the folded piece of paper with Liam's name blatantly staring at them. "I didn't read it," he quickly clarified. "But I needed to ask you about it."

"Y-yeah, that..." he said, scratching the back of his neck. He barely noticed they had stopped walking and were just standing there, staring at each other, the sun slowly bleeding into oranges and red before blacks and blues. "I um, I wanted to say... certain things but I didn't really know how. So I wrote that. I, uh, wasn't sure if I would be able to work up the courage to give it to you, though."

"What kind of things?" Liam asked. Bobby tried to read the tone of his voice. Nervousness? Anticipation? Fear? Dread?

"Um..." The moment of truth. Did he say something, out loud, so he could see Liam's genuine reaction? Or did he leave him to read the letter on his own, so he wouldn't have to face that reaction? He let out a breath, it almost sounded like a laugh. He couldn't get rid of his smile while he tried to stammer out any set of words. Anything at all. "I like you."

It was out there. No taking it back now.

"I've been trying to tell you for a while now," Bobby continued, stuffing his hands in his pockets and looking down while rocking on his heels. "But I really didn't know how. And I didn't know how you'd react. Nobody knows I'm... nobody knows I'm gay." Wow, and that was out there too. Not that it wasn't implied, but there was something about saying the word and leaving no room for doubt that lifted a weight off of himself. "I mean, I didn't even know it until recently. Until you."

"Wow..."

"You don't have to say anything," Bobby said, cutting off Liam before he could say anything else. "I mean, I don't expect you to feel the same way or whatever, I just still want us to be chill."

"And here I thought I was being obvious," Liam joked with a laugh, shoving the letter back into his pocket. Bobby furrowed his brow and Liam laughed again. "I like you too, Bobby."

"Wait, seriously?" Bobby smile was back and just as hard to contain, but it was different now.

"Seriously," he said, reaching his hand out for the curly-haired Cuban-American. "I have actually been trying to figure out how to ask you out."

"Lucky for you I accidentally did it then, huh?" Bobby said, taking Liam's hand. "So, I guess this makes you my boyfriend, huh?" That word weighed heavy on his tongue, but not in a bad way. Like a weighted blanket, it felt comfortable.

"Yeah, I guess it does."


	2. There Are So Many Mountains (I Haven't Explored)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> When Elena is sleeping over at Sasha's and his mom is working late, Bobby invites Liam over for a chill movie date.

Liam knocked on the door about twenty minutes after Bobby texted him. It was a relief he got there so quick. His mom was working late and wouldn't be home until sometime between nine and eleven. It was currently six thirty. He checked. Multiple times. But even though he had a few hours guaranteed, he wanted ample boyfriend time.

That word got better every time he said it. Boyfriend.

He opened the door to a smiling Liam, wearing a cozy sweatshirt just like Bobby had requested. Liam didn't know the dress code for "chill movie date" and neither did Bobby, so he used it as an opportunity to see Liam in an oversized, grey sweatshirt that was starting to wear out. It was just as gorgeous as he had imagined.

"I'm glad you could make it," Bobby said, closing the door behind him.

"Thanks for inviting me." Bobby lead Liam to the couch which was covered in the pillows from Bobby's bedroom, along with the comforter sprawled out for them to crawl under. On the coffee table was a blue, plastic bowl filled with popcorn. And cued up was some awful movie that was supposed to be hilarious, one with a distinct lack of dead dads, because that felt appropriate for them.

It wasn't their first date. They had been dating for three weeks at that point, but had still only had one thing they really called a "date." The two of them hung out after tennis one night, both telling their parents practice would run late to give them an excuse to walk around the park and talk, before sitting under a tree and holding hands. But this felt more like a real date than that had.

It didn't take much conversation for the two of them to get under the blanket and for Bobby to start the movie. They started out sitting next to each other, shoulder-to-shoulder, with Bobby's head leaning against Liam's. But soon enough, Liam threw his arm over Bobby's shoulder and he snugged into Liam's chest, listening to his heartbeat just as much as the movie. It was like his whole body breathed a sigh of relief. Being so close to his beautiful boyfriend in a soft sweatshirt... it was the closest thing to paradise Bobby had ever known. If Bobby wasn't so invested in "boyfriend time" he could have easily fallen asleep like that. But the thought of his mom walking in and seeing the two of them curled up on the couch asleep together was the only monster that lurked in the shadows of their new paradise.

They tried to pay attention to the movie, they really did. Some of the moments they caught were so wildly hilarious and terrible, made even better by the utter lack of context. But they would slip into natural conversation about tennis, the boys, high school, summer, family, any topic that came to mind. They could talk about anything, absolutely anything, and they knew the other would understand. 

"Can I ask you a question?" Liam asked.

"Anything."

"When did you realize you liked me?" Bobby moved from his position so he was more eye-to-eye with Liam, reaching across Liam's waist to hold the hand not around his shoulders.

"Remember when he got stuck in the storage room in Jupiter? And you made me that tennis ball trophy?" Liam nodded as Bobby smiled with a little huff to himself. "When we were sitting there talking and our knees touched, I realized I felt more in that little moment that I ever had with Monyca-with-a-y," Bobby continued. "So, then. That's when I realized it."

"I think that's the moment it really clicked for me, too," Liam said. "But it had definitely been building for a while. Probably since the kick-back."

"Yeah. God, that day was so awkward. Like, I wanted to like kissing Monyca-with-a-y, but I just... didn't. And I was so confused and didn't know what it meant. Until Jupiter."

"Do you..." Liam started, licking his lips. Bobby's heart skipped a beat, and he hoped he knew where this was going. "Do you think you'd like kissing me more?" Bobby wanted to say something smooth, something like _only one way to find out_ or _I don't know, I haven't done it yet._

"Please?" His voice was weak, barely a whisper, but Liam caught it anyway. It was clear by the subtle smirk on his face, and even clearer by him slowly moving forward. Bobby leaned in closer too, and finally, their lips touched. His gut exploded and his heart twisted, but like he had just won a huge tennis tournament after it was neck-and-neck the whole time. Liam gripped Bobby's shoulder and Bobby responded by grasping Liam's hand tighter.

The door swung open.

Bobby and Liam broke apart.

Gabi stood in the doorway, simply staring at them, her purse in her hand and her jacket slung over her arm.

Nobody said anything, looking between everyone.

Finally, Liam cleared his throat.

"I, uh, I should probably get home. My grandma's expecting me," he said, standing up. "I'm sorry. Good luck," he mouthed to Bobby. Bobby simply nodded. He knew this was a conversation he had to have with his mom alone. And besides, if he was Liam, or if this wasn't his house, he probably would have bolted too.

His mom walked towards him as Liam slid behind her to leave the house. Bobby wanted to say a lot of things. _I'm sorry. I was gonna tell you, but I wasn't ready. I was scared. I_ am _scared. Please don't get out another sex-ed binder. Please don't tell Elena. Please don't be mad._

But instead he said nothing as his mom sat down next to him and wrapped him up in a hug. The teenage boy in him wanted to be embarrassed, but the mess-of-a-human in him was grateful. He returned the hug, pushing back tears. He couldn't even pinpoint why he wanted to cry, but sometimes his brain was good at keeping secrets from him.

"How long have you been dating?" she asked, quietly, her chin on top of his head.

"Three weeks," he said, finally finding his voice. "I'm sorry you had to find out like this, I wanted to tell you, I just..."

"It's okay, mijo," she said, smoothing his hair down. "But you're still grounded for the weekend for having your boyfriend over when I wasn't home." Bobby groaned as Gabi let him go. "I'm happy for you, though. Just be careful."

"Mom!"

"I'm just saying."

"Please don't tell Elena. Or Sam. You're the only one who knows and I kinda want to keep it like that for now."

"I'm the last person who will judge you about that," Gabi said, kissing him on the top of his head. "Don't worry. Your secret is safe with me," she said, standing up to get ready for bed. "Oh, and open door policy applies when Liam's here without Danny and Ziggy." Before Bobby could reply, his mom was off to the other room. Leaving him alone to clean up the uneaten popcorn and take his bedding back to his room. As he plopped the comforter back onto his bed, his phone dinged in his pocket.

 _How did it_ _go?_ It was a text from Liam.

_Pretty well, all things considered._

_Sorry I left. I wanted to stay to support you, but I felt like I was in the way._

_It's okay. If I was you, I would have left too._

_So, did you like kissing me more than Monyca-with-a-y. BTW my autocorrect really hates her name._ Bobby couldn't help but chuckle at that, smiling down at his phone at the memory of their kiss. His body was still buzzing and his brain was bouncing around his head.

_A million times better._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not gonna lie, I started this fic just so I could write this scene, lol. Callback to Bobby catching Gabi and Sam in episode one. Do it, Disney! You won't!


	3. There Are Too Many Armies (With No One To Fight)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Bobby and Liam are hanging out with Danny and Ziggy, who still don't know the two have been dating for over a month.

Bobby cheered and Ziggy dropped his controller after how badly he was demolished.

Bobby almost instinctively leaned over to Liam for a celebratory kiss, but stopped himself just in time. It wasn't that they thought Danny and Ziggy would have a problem with it, per se. They really didn't have the first idea how the guys would react. There weren't any out-gay couples in their school, at least not that they knew of, and there hadn't been a natural way to test their opinions. They weren't willing to risk their friendship if there was even a slight chance it would ruin everything.

So they stayed quiet, sitting with their legs touching and exchanging sly smiles when nobody else was looking.

"Bathroom break, be right back," Ziggy said, standing up and leaving the room.

"I'll go get more chips," Danny added, getting up and taking the plastic bowl with him. Bobby watched and waited until both of them were out of sight before sneaking a kiss on Liam's cheek.

"You're a dork, you know that?" Liam asked, poking Bobby's cheek to make fun of the goofy, lovestruck grin on his face.

"I know, and you love it."

"Can't argue with that." Bobby looked around, still seeing no sign of the guys.

"Can I steal a real quick kiss? Just to hold me over until we leave?"

"Of course," Liam said, and that was all Bobby needed to hear. He cupped Liam's face and kissed him, smoothly and naturally. Ever since their first kiss that day, they found whatever excuses to kiss whenever they were in private. Bobby finally understood what all the fuss around kissing was about.

"Uh-" Liam and Bobby broke apart, standing up and facing Danny, holding a bowl of chips and staring at them, dumbfounded.

"Um..."

"Well-"

"We can..." Bobby wasn't sure if it was him or Liam talking most of the time. Rubbing his neck, he looked between Danny and Liam, trying to find the right words.

"Are you two dating?" Danny finally asked, seemingly snapped out of it. Liam and Bobby sighed and nodded together. "How long?"

"A month and a half..." Bobby said sheepishly.

"And you're just now telling me?"

"We weren't sure how you'd react," Liam said. "So we wanted to wait and figure that out first." Danny set the chips on the coffee table and the three sat down on the couch. "Are you mad?"

"What? No. Just surprised." There was silence for a moment as all of them tried to figure out what to say. "I didn't even know you were gay."

"I didn't either," Bobby replied. "Not until last year, anyway."

"I'm sorry you thought you couldn't tell me."

"You were just so excited to see me with Monyca-with-a-y that-"

"Wait, you never liked Monyca-with-a-y."

"I thought I did! I didn't really know what 'liking someone' was supposed to mean. At least, until I started liking Liam."

"And that's why you got into the fight at the dance! You were jealous!" It was amusing watching all the pieces fall into place in real time. Like it was all so obvious and he just hadn't seen it. Which, depending on who you asked, was possibly true. "It all makes so much sense now."

The couple laughed, and Bobby let himself rest his head on Liam's shoulder for a few seconds. It was difficult not to be affectionate with Liam when he was able to, especially after spending so much time hiding.

"Don't tell anyone, though. You're the second person who knows."

"Your secret is safe with me," Danny said. It was then that Ziggy walked into the room and sat down on one of the chairs.

"So, what did I miss?"

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry this chapter is a bit shorter. I've been having writing issues lately.


End file.
